Eli Lake, Columnist

Trump Is Right to Close U.S. Skies to Russian Spies

If one party isn’t abiding by an arms-control agreement, the other is justified in walking away.

May 21, 2020 at 9:05 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

It takes at least two sides to make an agreement.
Photographer: PAVEL GOLOVKIN/AFP

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President Donald Trump is preparing to exit his second arms-control treaty with Russia since taking the oath of office, and the opposition is already in high dudgeon. “This is insane,” tweeted former CIA director Michael Hayden. “Another shortsighted Trump move to abandon a treaty that includes many close allies,” tweeted Samantha Power, former ambassador to the United Nations.

But Trump’s decision is the right one — both in the details and on principle.